Purdy: Frank Gore's sincerity, drive can't be questioned

SAN FRANCISCO -- Frank Gore is the most sincere running back in the NFL.

I make this statement with total prejudice. It is my personal belief and conviction. No one else in the league is more honest as a runner than Gore. No one else is more honest as a person.

For instance, after Sunday's 27-13 victory by the 49ers, Gore mentioned that as he gets older, he tried to be one or two pounds lighter each season. I was curious about whether that has a measurable football effect.

"Can you actually tell that you're lighter?" I asked. "How do you know?"

"We weigh in," Gore answered.

He was being totally guileless, of course. Chastened, I asked again with more clarity. Gore understood the question this time.

"Getting in and out of my cuts, I still got the explosiveness," he explained. "When I see something, I go get it."

That statement pretty much defines Gore's eight-year pro career. Sunday, he saw a chance to surpass 1,000 yards for the sixth time. So he went and got it. He saw a chance to score a rushing touchdown and tie the all-time franchise record in that category. So he went and got it.

Along the way, Gore also proved what I continue to maintain: That no one on the 49ers roster is more important. And that the 49ers offense goes nowhere without him.

I can provide evidence. The 49ers were not initially splendiferous on offense Sunday. In the first quarter, Gore touched the ball just twice. Colin Kaepernick, still in his training-wheels mode at quarterback, kept dropping back and getting sacked by aggressive Dolphins rushers. The 49ers scored zero points.

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Only when offensive coordinator Greg Roman began dialing up more Gore did the offensive machinery start humming.

"The first 10 plays, I think eight were passes," said 49er offensive tackle Joe Staley. "I think the key is, when we got our running game going, we were able to slow down their guys on the edge."

Everything on the 49ers offense revolves around Gore. Everything.

Example One: LaMichael James, the second-round draft pick out of Oregon, finally saw some action Sunday and ripped off a couple impressive runs. Afterward, James credited Gore for lessons in how to be patient in waiting for space to open.

"I was trying to slow it down a little bit," James said of one particular 13-yard gain, "and then let it go. I've got those fresh legs. Those guys have been pounding for two or three months. Today was my first day ever getting tackled."

Example Two: The 49ers' clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter happened on a 50-yard run by Kaepernick on the option-read play, where he fakes a handoff and then sprints around left end. The reason it worked? Because the Miami defenders all were focused on the fake to Gore.

"I always knew he was a great running back," Kaepernick said afterward. "But being on the field and seeing all he does, some of the cuts and how he does it on pass protection ... I don't think there's another running back like him in the league."

This is why, if you go by Sunday's stat sheet, you might be fooled into thinking Gore had a semi-mediocre day. Twelve carries for 63 yards. Two catches for 22 yards. One touchdown. But his net effect will always be more than the sum of his numbers.

When you ponder Gore's relatively unimposing size (5-foot-9, 217 pounds), his longevity is admirable. When you consider that he came to the 49ers as alleged damaged goods -- two serious knee surgeries dropped him to the third round of the draft -- his career records are even more remarkable.

Fact: Running backs have the shortest careers in the NFL. They average just 2.57 years. Gore has lasted more than three times that long.

"It's a blessing," Gore said. "Everybody says, 'When you turn 29 or 30, you can't do it anymore. When I got to 29, I told myself, 'I'm going to overcome that.' "

How?

"I train," Gore said. "I train. I train. And I just love the game of football. I've been playing it since I was 4. I'm just having fun."

Even when he's hurt? Yes, even when he's hurt.

"A lot of it comes down to just being tough," said 49ers offensive lineman Alex Boone. "Frank really takes care of his body. But any of us can sit in the cold tub for 24 hours. Sometimes you've just got to say: 'This pain is for a greater good.' That's Frank."

Boone took some good-natured ribbing Sunday because on one rushing play he was hustling downfield in search of someone to block, Gore made a quick cut and was suddenly in front of Boone -- who then inadvertently decked his teammate.

"Alex tackled me in Minnesota and Seattle, too," Gore said. "I've got to ask him what he's got against me. I told him, 'You've got to stay off me, man. Let me get another touchdown.' But it's a good play, a good play."

You could tell that Gore, a native of South Florida, took particular pleasure in beating the Dolphins. After his postgame shower, he wore a hoodie that he purchased before the season when he saw Miami on the schedule. The hoodie had an illustration of a dolphin with a football helmet, standing on its head and an "X" where the Miami logo usually would be.

"I said, 'We've got to flip them upside down when we play them,' " Gore said.

Then he added: "Every day, we just keep getting a little bit better. I think we can get to the dance."